Observational studyJournal of pain and symptom management2018
A Palliative Radiation Oncology Consult Service Reduces Total Costs During Hospitalization.
Observational study in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The health care cost of palliative care for cancer patients: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of a Dedicated Inpatient Radiation Oncology Consult Service on Goal-Concordant Care.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Pilot Study Evaluating Cross-Disciplinary Educational Material to Improve Patients' Knowledge of Palliative Radiation Therapy.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2023Article
- Palliative Care Delivery Systems and Integration With Palliative Care Teams.Seminars in radiation oncology · 2023Review
- Interprofessional geriatric and palliative care intervention associated with fewer hospital days.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2022Article
- Goals of care discussions: perceptions of radiation and medical oncologists.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Article
- Cost Savings Associated With Palliative Care Among Older Adults With Advanced Cancer.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2021Article
- Using predicted length of stay to define treatment and model costs in hospitalized adults with serious illness: an evaluation of palliative care.Health economics review · 2021Article
- Article
- The efficacy of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy on pain and quality of life in patients with painful bone metastases: a prospective study.Croatian medical journal · 2020Article
- Trends in Radiation for Bone Metastasis During a Period of Multiple National Quality Improvement Initiatives.Journal of oncology practice · 2019Article
- Timing of Urgent Inpatient Palliative Radiation Therapy.Advances in radiation oncologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextPalliative radiation therapy (PRT) is a highly effective treatment in alleviating symptoms from bone metastases; however, currently used standard fractionation schedules can lead to costly care, especially when patients are treated in an inpatient setting. The Palliative Radiation Oncology Consult (PROC) service was developed in 2013 to improve appropriateness, timeliness, and care value from PRT.
objectivesOur primary objective was to compare total costs among two cohorts of inpatients with bone metastases treated with PRT before, or after, PROC establishment. Secondarily, we evaluated drivers of cost savings including hospital length of stay, utilization of specialty-care palliative services, and PRT schedules.
methodsPatients were included in our observational cohort study if they received PRT for bone metastases at a single tertiary care hospital from 2010 to 2016. We compared total costs and length of stay using propensity score-adjusted analyses. Palliative care utilization and PRT schedules were compared by χ
resultsWe identified 181 inpatients, 76 treated before and 105 treated after PROC. Median total hospitalization cost was $76,792 (range $6380-$346,296) for patients treated before PROC and $50,582 (range $7585-$620,943) for patients treated after PROC. This amounted to an average savings of $20,719 in total hospitalization costs (95% CI [$3687, $37,750]). In addition, PROC was associated with shorter PRT schedules, increased palliative care utilization, and an 8.5 days reduction in hospital stay (95% CI [3.2,14]).
conclusionThe PROC service, a radiation oncology model integrating palliative care practice, was associated with cost-savings, shorter treatment courses and hospitalizations, and increased palliative care.
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